The end

Well, this will my last post in this blog. I have always wanted to keep this blog for one year only and it has been accomplished! Mateo is 13 months now and he is really growing and learning. There will be lots of exciting things to report but I will do it in a general way. Now I need to find a way to have this blog made into a book that I can give to Mateo as a gift but this is a project that will have to wait right now. 

In the mean time, I have started a new blog called "Back in Ecuador". I know I am not in Ecuador yet but we are doing so many things to prepare that keeping this new blog will help. I plan to write often about the adventures we get into as a family in our new country.

We are very excited to move this summer!

Bye bye

Starting the second year sick

It all started the day we went to get the vaccinations. Mateo got a shot in each limb, I wish we spread them a bit so the effect on his little body was not as cruel. The afternoon of the shots he did very well. I thought he will be just fine. The day after, he had pain in his legs and did not want to walk much. A day later he woke me up with vomit and cry. We went to the emergency room just in case. After few hours there we were sent home with some pills. The past 3 days my baby has had diarrhea and some vomit. I was told that it will pass in 7 to 10 days! Today he seemed to be better but his bugs are now attacking me and Pat. We are sick today with a stomach flu. 

Finally tonight, Mateo wake up crying uncontrollably. It is scary when we do not have a clue what could it be. After some thinking and talking on the phone with the nurse, we conclude that his molars are coming out and that must hurt. I gave him some medicine for that and he finally went to sleep. I am ready to have my baby back! The healthy, silly baby who just turn one year old. 

My FIRST birthday!

Mateo's birthday came and went and he had so much fun, two days in a row. Yesterday, his actual birthday (4/23) we went out for lunch to an italian restaurant and to the Children's Discovery Museum afterwards. At the restaurant he was brought a little cake with a candle. He stared at the flame puzzled and this year, I blew it out for him and made a wish in his name. Then, a couple of hours at the discovery museum were well spent. He experienced flying balls, wet balls, rolling balls, noisy balls and lots of sand and music.

Your first cake and candle

Cool bubbles

agua

Today we had a little birthday party planned for him. Olivia and Isaac were the only friends who made it, all others did not come for several reasons. Over all, he had a great time, playing with water, sand, toys and bubbles! 

Now he is fast sleep! 

Cake and candle at home

A year ago...

One year back, on a Thursday, at around this time, I was holding a just born baby. I was just falling in love with the little being placed in my arms. This first year of Mateo's life has passed so fast. I am glad I kept records of all the things that we did and happened in this blog, otherwise, I would not be able to remember all. I know one day I will spend time reading and looking at this blog's pictures and videos and bringing back great memories. Mateo's first year of life. Anita's first year as a mom and Pat's first year as a dad. It has been wonderful above all and we look forward to the second year. Most of the second year will take place in Ecuador!

after he was born

a year later

Walking!

It finally came the day when Mateo walked on his own (4/11/2010). It took exactly one month since he took his first steps alone. I do believe they have a very precise clock regulating all their developmental milestones. It is so fun to watch him be independent. 

Now his non-stop energy have us follow him all over the house many, many times exploring everything. A new life has began for him... and for us!

Having fun

I love spending the afternoons at home with my baby. We get to walk around the house, read books, play with toys and go for walks around the farm and spots all kind of animals.

Soon, I will be home all day everyday and it will be great. Pat and I will have the chance to teach Mateo everything we know in spanish and in english!

Here are some cute photos:

Looking for eggs?

eating is fun and messy now!

In few years his feet will be bigger than mine

one of the Hidden Villa's cat

Bob Revolution

We want to be able to take Mateo out on walks and not always carry him in our arms that is why we bought "bob revolution"! This great stroller will go with us to Ecuador when we move. It is great for city walks as well as rough roads like the roads we have in our farm in Ecuador.

Today it was rainy so we did not tested it outside, however Mateo really liked the ride around the house.

In other developments, Mateo is walking more and more and he adventures on his own a lot more everyday. His confidence is building up day after day. Still it is a bit stressful for us to let him go on his own because when he falls, he falls pretty hard on our concrete floor house.

In 3 weeks he will be 1 year old!

Spring is here!

Days come and go and Mateo knows so much more about his world now. I was very surprised this morning when I told him "let's go see the bunny rabbit" (the rabbit we get to see in our backyard from our livingroom window) and he took me exactly where I had asked. I also asked him to lead me to see abuelita and he took me right there. I then realized that he understands much more than I thought. He continues to walk and sometimes run around the house and outside hanging on our hands. From time to time he dares to let go of the hand but he loses his balance quickly. Surely he is practicing and practicing.

Books are a great way to spend time with my boy. He turns the pages and makes the sound of the pig every time he see it.

Since the days are getting warmer and the sun is shining more, we got him a nice hat and crocs shoes in REI yesterday. He looks darn cute with them.

He also seems to be handling Spanish and English very well. He understands both. However, his first word I must say was AGUA that means water in English.

Finally, today he got a rash on his face right after eating rice and egg. We now know he is allergic to eggs. Maybe it was too soon to give them to him. Hope he grows out of it.

First steps

At 10 1/2 months Mateo is taking his first steps alone. I LOVE to see his little face full of joy knowing that his is finally walking. I think he realizes that this is a "big step" in life!

He loves to practice walking all the time, of course holding on someone's hand and getting into everything. As soon as he starts walking without much help (which is very soon) we will be chasing him around the house. It is going to be fun!

Another change I just noticed this week is that he can fit the donuts in the stick. He used to try and give up very soon because he could not do it. Now he has finally done it and he is getting good at it. Boy! How fast he is growing!!

Bye Bye mommy

This morning Mateo did not want me to go to work. Every time I said bye bye, he cried. So I tried nursing him and telling him that I will be gone to work for few hours and that we had just 4 more months here in California and after that we will be together all day, every day. He was looking at me and smiling as if he knew what I was talking about. When we finished, he went to my mom's arms and I kissed him good bye. He did not cried anymore and I left with a smile on my face.

Walking at the knoll

In Los Altos

Officially Ecuadorian

Today Mateo was register as an Ecuadorian citizen in the ecuadorian consulate of San Francisco. It is a great day because this gives Mateo open doors to two countries, two cultures, two worlds. Now he is an American and Ecuadorian citizen and he will make the most out of it during his life. He probably won't remember much of these first months of live here in California but he will have the memories Pat and I share with him as he grows up. Ecuador will be his country for his first few years. We will of course come back to visit family in Florida hopefully once a year. Pat and I will speak English as much as possible but everyone else will speak to him in Spanish. I will make sure he learns both languages. Who know if he would choose to come back to United States for college. I would love for him to have that choice...

Walking soon!!

I think this guy is going to walk very soon. As soon as he figured out that standing up was much nicer than crawling, this is all he does now. He crawls for a bit but as soon as he can pull himself up he will do it and practice his balance skills. Today while we were waiting to see his doctor, he started to walk holding our hand with much more confidence than ever before. Later in the evening we went to a party and he continued to walk and walk and enjoy it very much. Of course my back hurts now since I need to be bending to his height to hold his little hand. It is like there is no turning back, mommy here I come -- I WILL WALK SOON! He is not even 10 months!

Almost toddler!

self-weaning?

It is sad but lately Mateo is not interested in nursing when I come back from work. We used to have that special time to reconnect after being gone for 5 hours. Now, it seems like he is not hungry and does not need that time. He is also skipping his afternoon nap... Would it be possible that there is so much to do, see and learn that there is not time to eat and sleep? Of course, he is so tired by 5:30 or 6:00 pm and off for the night. The good thing is that he continues to nurse at night so I know he is getting still some nutrition from my breast milk. I plan to nurse Mateo until he self wean. Looks like it might be soon!

Having fun on the ground

He will the that tall some day

Best picture

This is the best picture of Mateo I have taken so far. He looks so happy and beautiful. I hope to make a big print of this and have it in a wall in our house in Ecuador. He is growing so fast and leaving us with good memories.

Yesterday we saw Charlah Robinson, the person who touched Mateo first when he was born. Charlah was my doctor and helped us tremendously through my pregnancy. Thanks to her and her good care Mateo stayed in my belly 39 weeks. We came to love Dr. Robinson. She is special.

9 months!! Can you see my teeth?

Mateo turned 9 months yesterday - January 23. He is a little man now with two little teeth and more hair, curly hair - like Pat when he was little. He is also very happy most of the time. Just two weeks ago he started to crawl but now he would rather be standing up and practicing walking by cruising in the crib or holding our hands. I think he knows that walking is much more fun because he can see much more in that position. 

Oh, and he is loving books now. Specially picture books where he can see animals and us making the sounds of the animals. He has this way of communicating now that we can just tell what he wants or needs right away. When I leave for work, I do not sneak out, I say good bye and he watch me go. He used to attempt to cry but now he looks at my mom and says something in his language. He knows I will be back and he is happy staying home with my mom. 

rain and rainbows

It has been very rainy today and in the afternoon we went to see the birds at the Palo Alto Baylands. It was a blessing to get a little break in the heavy rain just as we got there. Mateo was so happy watching the ducks and the other birds. His face watching so many birds together was priceless. We also saw a beautiful rainbow-- his first rainbow!

New Developments

Several things have happened these few days in California:

Teething
Mateo is teething now and his two bottom front teeth are coming out! He is as happy as he can be (glad he is not fussy as I was told they get), however he has had some diarrhea since last Thursday, the day we came back. I was blaming at my mom's chicken soup for it but now I am convinced it has to do with the teething.

First Cousin
Yesterday January 12th at 10:00 pm, Isaid Samuel was born in Ecuador, he is Mateo's first cousin. I also became an aunt for the first time. Since Mateo and Isaid will grow fast and don't have that much age difference I can see them playing and spending a lot of time together when we live in Ecuador. Welcome to Earth little Isaid!


Off schedule
Going to Ecuador for 3 weeks and adjusting to a new sleep schedule was not difficult, Mateo was sleeping from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am in just a couple of days. Now, going back to that schedule here in California has been a bit difficult. My little bundle of joy is going to sleep between 5:00 and 5:30 pm and is waking up between 4:30 and 5:30 am. Yeah, and I have to wake up with him! Hope he adjust soon!

Friends and toys

Yesterday afternoon we went to visit his twin friends Oliver and Niko. Mateo had a good time enjoying their toy and just hanging out. Lucky him, he got to bring back this toy and now he is really liking it and spending time playing in it. 

Zizzer-Zazzer- Zuzz

Today it was the first time that Mateo listened and looked at a book for a long time while Pat was reading to him. It seemed to me like he was being entertained by it and he was ready to take in some info. Before he would just take the book away from us and put it in his mouth. So looks like he is ready to read more Dr. Seuss's books!!

Back in our California home

We are back in California!  Mateo did excellent on his first trip to Ecuador. He was fascinated to see so many family members and he let everyone who wanted hold him and play with him. He liked going around in the crowded streets of Quito as well as walking around our land in the forest. I think he found so many new things to entertain his senses everywhere. We were glad he did not get sick and even the mosquitos did not bother him when we were in the land. He was just a happy camper!

Two very special highlights of his development are: 

1. He started to say ma-ma-ma-ma and dah-dah-dah-dah  and when he wants to be chatty he is very loud! He is so much more alert and communicative. We love it and have fun with him.

2. His crawling skills have improved a lot. Today for the first time he started to crawl using his hands and knees. It was great! Soon I wont be able to keep him confined to the small soft area in our house. Crawling in the hard, cold concrete floor would be interesting to watch. 

In the meantime, we are glad to be back and looking forward to few more months here in California before we move to Ecuador for good.

Being silly with my aunt and grandma

Hanging out with Amel and Jose David

My grandpa